COVID-19 transmission in China is low, authorities say

Passengers wait for taxis at Beijing West Railway Station on Jan 27, 2023. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn]

There is currently a low level of transmission of COVID-19 in China, and the country's situation is steadily improving, Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said on Monday.

As more people start returning to urban areas at the end of the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, which concluded on Friday, epidemic control measures should still be taken in densely populated areas and people should still make efforts to protect themselves, he said.

Rural areas are still key to controlling the epidemic, and continuous efforts should be made to monitor the health of vulnerable groups and to meet demands for treatment and medication, Mi said during a news conference.

Fu Wei, an official with the commission, said grassroots medical institutions in urban and rural areas ran smoothly during the holiday, and fever clinics were also open.

The number of patients at fever clinics during the holiday was low, down 94 percent from the peak of the most recent COVID-19 epidemic from Dec 23 to Jan 22, the first day of Chinese New Year, she said.

The number of patients in outpatient and emergency departments at grassroots medical institutions was 2.03 million, a decrease of about 30 percent from the pre-holiday level and by 44 percent from the peak on Dec 29, she said.

Mao Dezhi, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, said the epidemic situation in rural areas was also stable during the holiday, and there was no resurgence of outbreaks.

More than 3.8 million officials participated in rural epidemic control during the week, and a special task force for rural epidemic control at all levels of government functioned throughout the period, he said.

Small molecule drugs, oxygen generators and finger oximeters have been sent to rural medical institutions, and online medical services have been offered to rural people, he said.